• Proposed legislation forces head teachers to re-admit teenage mothers
• Most schools turn them away.
Image: FILE
We have been pushing the Ministry of Education to give us the guidelines on the re-admission of our children to schools. Most of our children who find themselves in such a situation [pregnancy], prefer being transferred to other schools. But most principals do not accept them back.
This is where parents have been having problems because sometimes headteachers of the schools where they used to learn refuse to admit them. Sometimes, children themselves refuse to go back to the same school for obvious reasons - intimidation and bullying.
So, this is something that has been long overdue. It should have been captured in law long time ago so that parents do not get into much problems with principals, running up and down looking for schools for their children.
Secondly, with the law, now it will be mandatory that when a child is in such a situation, after giving birth, she will go to any school she wants. Some teachers have been blaming parents for not taking care of their children while at home.
But that is not the case, these children spend most of their time in school. Sometimes the parent is away at work and they don’t know where the child is or what they are doing. Again, as parents, we find ourselves in all these and we must take them back to school.
So, on the side of the parents, this bill is highly welcomed. It will enrich our engagements with the principals when looking for schools for re-admission of our children. This law will help children who would have otherwise lost hope in life to rediscover themselves through education.
Cases of teenage pregnancies are very serious. In Kilifi for example, we found out that more than 50 per cent of girls had dropped out of school and they don’t come back. It is so serious. The parents told us that the principals do not accept them back. Most of them have been married off at a tender age and while some are languishing at home with parents.
I urge Parliament to pass this bill to help our girls achieve their dreams in life.
The chairman of the National Association of Parents spoke to the Star on phone